1939 – Brian Donlevy
Beau Geste
Beau Geste was an interesting movie, and Brian Donlevy did a good enough job, I suppose, even though his character was a little one-note. Actually, if I had to choose a nominee for Best Supporting Actor in this movie, I might have chosen Robert Preston, but that’s beside the point. And this isn’t the first time a bad-guy has been nominated for an Oscar. So I have to ask myself if Donlevy’s performance was good enough to earn him the nomination?
As I’ve said before, an acting nomination should be a happy marriage of a good actor and a well-written character. Donlevy played the part as it was written quite adequately. But there was just very little to the character. He played Sergeant Markoff of the French Foreign Legion. He is a cruel man who prefers leading his men with an iron fist, and by the end, we see no character development. We get no back story, and no reason for his cruelty except that he is just a mean guy. And eventually, he turns to thievery, scheming to steal Beau’s gemstone for himself.
Donlevy actually did a fine job with the material he was given. He played mean well. He was an attractive man, made unattractive by his personality, and by a nasty scar on his face. He played the part like I think it needed to be played, as very stoic, stiff, and military. And he was always in his dress uniform and his smart cap; always wearing his military medals, giving him an air of smug superiority. And all that out in the hot sun of the Saharan Desert.
I think Donlevy had two shining moments in the film. The first was when he witnessed the death of his kindly commander, allowing him to take control of the Legionnaires, himself. He smile, as he confirms the other man’s demise, was just the right amount of sadistic. The other was when the fort is once again attacked by the Tuaregs, and he actually becomes a good battle commander, even if it was just for a moment. And he even proved himself to be smart when he began propping up the dead soldiers in the battlements, to trick the enemy into thinking that there were more defenders than there actually were. In that moment, Donlevy actually showed Markoff to be a competent military officer, despite his sadistic attitude.